Monday, April 17, 2006

The Odd Fellows' Building at 7th and Market in San Francisco is detailed and always has been

It has on its side an embossed in stone pale yellow tent against a pale blue sky with stars. It has embossed in stone (or something that looks like stone) a God's eye with rays around it like the God's eye on the back of the dollar bill, only no pyramid.

It has bricks. It's built of bricks that look more and more like unusual, interesting details around here where less and less is built of brick because building with bricks is not a good earthquake plan. It has details of weathering as the bricks, which were maybe orginally yellow, age differently.

These details have been there, most from the beginning, the weathering for years. But now they are looking more detailed everyday as the much taller, new Federal Building rises behind the Odd Fellows' Building's details..

Physically made of glass and steel, visually made of many and many rectangles of glass outlined by steel, the Federal Building is the essense of a shiny uniform surface. The Odd Fellows' building acquires more texture as each story of the Federal Building is finished with glass.